The present invention relates to the protection of foundations from water leakage and earth subsidence around the walls. More particularly the present invention provides a protector for foundations that has a drainage space for moisture to escape from the foundations themselves.
Building structures that have foundation walls and floors made of concrete, concrete blocks, foam insulation and concrete composite blocks, wood or other materials are adversely affected over time by moisture, either moisture coming from the exterior or earth side of the foundations or alternatively, moisture that enters the foundations from the interior of the building. Most buildings have tile drains provided at the base of the foundation walls to remove water that penetrates the soil from above, but it is preferred to have waterproof protectors on the exteriors of foundation walls to prevent water entering the walls through cracks that occur over time.
One example of such a protector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,951 to Kannankeril and has an array of spaced-apart projections that provides drainage space between a foundation wall and the protector. In the past, such protectors have been attached to the foundation walls either by nails or adhesive sheets that attach directly to the exteriors of the foundation walls. It has been found that adhesive sheets having the same area as the protectors do not permit the foundation walls to breathe and any moisture that may be retained in these walls cannot escape. Also, the use of nails has been undesirable because of the difficulty of properly installing the nails and the lack of secure attachment of the protectors to the foundation walls by the nails.
One other problem that has occurred with these protectors with spaced-apart projections positioned on foundation walls is due to the earth on the exterior of the walls filling the projections from the outside. Thus, if and when the earth subsides, it tends to pull the protectors away from the foundation wall. This leaves gaps between the protectors and the walls, which defeats the purpose of the protectors.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel protector for a foundation wall that is easily installed and permits moisture in the foundation to escape into a drainage space between the protector and the foundation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a substantially smooth surface on the exterior of the protector to prevent the protector itself moving when earth adjacent the protector subsides.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide at least one adhesive strip extending across a protector and attached to protrusions to provide attachment of the protector to a foundation wall.
The present invention provides a protector for a foundation wall, floor or other substantially flat foundation surface which includes protrusions extending from a base portion, the protrusions being for positioning adjacent the foundation surface and being spaced apart from one another to provide a drainage space between the foundation surface and the base portion of the protector, and an outer waterproof membrane on the base portion to cover recesses formed by the protrusions and provide a substantially smooth exterior surface to prevent movement of the protector due to earth subsidence.
The present invention also provides a concrete foundation protection system for providing drainage for foundation walls including a waterproof dimpled sheet with spaced-apart protrusions from a base portion, the protrusions for positioning adjacent the foundation walls to provide drainage space between the foundation walls and the base portion of the dimpled sheet, and an outer waterproof membrane on the base portion to cover recesses formed by the protrusions and provide a substantially smooth exterior surface to permit earth subsidence adjacent the membrane without movement of the dimpled sheet.